


This Future We Share

by CrypticKeyboard



Category: Persona 4, persona - Fandom
Genre: Comedy, Eventual Romance, Friendship, Gen, Slice of Life
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2015-09-21
Updated: 2017-03-28
Packaged: 2018-04-21 11:40:57
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 7,269
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/4827839
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CrypticKeyboard/pseuds/CrypticKeyboard
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>"Eleven years, and just look at us now! We might as well still be teenagers, crowding Junes' food court and whispering all about The Midnight Channel. I wouldn't have it any other way, would you?"<br/>Eleven long years have passed since the Investigation Team's chase for the truth came to a close, and as they said goodbye to that year of mayhem they looked to the future for what was next. Yu Narukami now returns to Inaba permanently, a newly qualified English teacher with an accepted application at Yasogami High. From here he just wanted to live a normal, mildly exciting life. But he knew, deep down, that life would always have a little spark in Inaba. Join him as he experiences a brand new adventure, side by side with those he loves the most.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1: Homecoming

 

The gentle thrumming of the train's movement beneath him was a comforting beat, by now he'd felt it so many times that each twist, dip, and rise in the tracks had become ingrained in memory. This time, however, he made sure to appreciate the feeling twice as much. After this ride the frequency of his train journeys would drop; there would be no need to travel back and forth from the city at every opportunity now. Yu Narukami had finally taken the plunge and moved permanently into Inaba. Finding a residence was no small task, especially in a small town with little to no movement. If it hadn't been for the sharp eyes, and most likely sharper tongue, of his uncle Dojima it was unlikely he would've found a place as soon as he had.  
  
It had been a month since the moving process began, in truth it had only been so slow because Narukami had wanted to ensure all things in Tokyo had been settled before moving to the boonies again. A secondary benefit was that it had allowed him to move a large amount of his possessions to the new household ahead of time; it would mean a large quantity of boxes would be waiting for him there when he arrived. Truth be told, Yu wasn't ready. Even if the pace had been glacial he would've believed it to be moving too quickly. It had only been a few months since his last real visit; becoming a resident of the town had always seemed like some kind of backlog dream that was never likely to arrive in reality. It had just fallen into place much more suddenly than anticipated  
  
Originally, the plan was that Yu would move back in with Dojima and Nanako, as per the usual visit strategy. However, in a twist of fate, Dojima's constant browsing of news paid off. A modestly priced single floored home had come on the market; the previous owners had decided to up and move, coincidentally, to the city. Before he could even tell his uncle, "Keep an eye on that place!" Narukami received a phone-call. He was now the proud owner of his own Inaba home.   
  
"Call it a moment of madness," Dojima had said, "But I felt like the best welcome to town gift I could get you would BE your ticket to town... This doesn't mean you aren't paying me back though." Not wanting to lose a single second on the clock, Narukami had instantly taken down the address and begun the process of moving. It had been far less painful than he'd predicted, though Yu suspected that was just an overflow from his abnormal luck as of late. He felt his phone vibrate in his pocket, he wasn't expecting any contact at that moment so the sudden buzz made him jump a little. Fishing his phone out from his pocket, he was pleasantly surprised to see that it was a message from Kanji  
  
"Yo, Buddy," it started, "When are you next coming into town? Just wanted to know, cause you can crash at my place this time." Just as Yu went to respond to Kanji, his phone vibrated again, this time it was a message from Naoto of all people.  
  
"WILL U B IN TOWN IN NEXT 2 MONTHS Y/N?" Just reading Naoto's messages somehow made it feel like she was literally standing there, screaming her information like some sort of enraged animal. The thought gave Yu a brief moment of laughter, which was cut short by another buzz, and another, and another! Why was everyone suddenly so intent on messaging him?  
  
"Partner! Operation: Have a gr8 Time, is in R&D! C u soon, K bro?" Even with age, Yosuke continued with his mission to make the mundane exciting. That had to have been the worst one since Operation: Babehunt 2: Hunt for Red Hotober. To this day, Yu would never forget the travesty that was that afternoon. Trying to purge unwanted memories from his brain, he checked the other message.  
  
"Gd evening, Yu-kun! Cn't wait 2 see you again! Visit soon!" Chie had written, complete with an attached selfie of everyone. They all looked well, at least everyone that was present did. Teddie, Rise, and Yukiko were missing from the snapshot. If it wasn't for his lingering on the photo, a habit he'd developed to try and remember them during the time they were apart, Yu would never have noticed the clock. In the background of Chie's photo he could just make out a clock on a wall. Blurring made it hard for him to perfectly read it, but he estimated the hands to roughly equate to between 6:30 and 6:40. Continuing his amateur sleuthing, another developed habit, he checked the time on his phone. The reading ticked over to 6:37. Gears finally crunched into place and a small grin formed on his face. Dojima, the sly old man, must've told them that he was coming. And they would've surprised him to, if it weren't for that slip-up by Chie.

A small part of him was let down by it no longer being a surprise, they were probably waiting for him at the train station given the way they were dressed. But overall he felt flattered, they'd probably had plans today and they'd dropped them to come and greet him at the station. It was only fair, given their clear dedication to this friendship, that Yu plays a prank on them. Various announcements had started up on the train PA system, he didn't have much time until they arrived. Pulling his luggage down from the rack, Yu quickly probed through it to find his biggest, most unidentifiable hoodie. It was time for the prank to activate.

____

At the station, as predicted, those present in Chie's photo waited on the platform with great anticipation. It had taken all of Naoto's brain power to convince Kanji to stand back from the edge of the platform; he'd looked just about ready to jump on the tracks and start running for the train. Today was a very special day, even if they hadn't all realised its full significance yet. So spirits were high, the mood was electric, and none of them knew what was coming. Dojima had simply told them that his nephew was coming to town again due to a surprise schedule clear-up. He was only coming for a week. This of course did not stop the gang from preparing a full ceremony, complete with surprise party waiting back a the Dojima residence. At least, that was what they all believed at that moment in time.   
  
"Its coming!" Kanji barked suddenly, scaring the rest of the group out of their skin.

"We can see that, dummy! You don't need to yell," Chie said, adjusting her hair in an attempt to play off her shock.

"Hey give him a break, we all know that Kanji's eyes are usually stuck right on Naoto's b-" Yosuke didn't even get to finish his sentence before Naoto's foot crashed into his shin, it was a very effective silencing tool. Nothing more was said as the train slowly rolled to a stop in the station. All of them broke off to cover a door each, minimizing the amount of time it would take to find Yu. There were one or two passengers per car, Inaba wasn't usually the stop for many people this time of the day. As the doors slowly hissed open the few passengers filtered off of the train. One, a taller man wearing a blue hoodie, walked with his head down past Chie. She stared at him, watching his suitcase rumble along behind him with a face covered by confusion. Eventually each and every one of them did the same.

Yu got roughly ten feet before Chie asked, "Soooo, there weren't enough people on the train again, were there?" 

"I even remembered to disguise myself this time and EVERYTHING!" Yu protested, shortly before the team swarmed him. A storm of laughter filled the terminal; this was the fifth time he'd tried the exact same prank. It had never worked.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'm sorry that its taken a while for me to write this next chapter, I've had little bit of a struggle motivating myself to write. Buuuuuut I'm back, and hopefully writing way faster. 'Ere we go! - Cryptic
> 
> (Also I should probably add that as long as it is referring to events in the past, the team looks as they do at the END of Persona 4 Golden, and that they clearly aren't discussing absolutely everything I describe here, that stuff is just here so you can be up to speed with their lives and such!)

Chapter 2: How Time Flies

_**Ten Years** _ **Prior  
**

 Summer was back, and the sun was fully prepared to remind Inaba that its time had come. Drinks were flowing, the people had taken to the streets, and the air was thick with excitement; as well as what seemed like hundreds of bugs. The Investigation Team had gathered together so they could celebrate another grand return of Yu Narukami. The school holidays had come back around, so Yu had once more rode the train back to Inaba to spend his Summer break with his Uncle. A perfect by-product of this was, of course, seeing his friends again. They'd gathered together in quick order, much to Dojima's slight annoyance that a gang of teens had congregated in his living room on such short notice. Luckily, and perhaps due to his daughter's enthusiasm at the concept, he allowed the sudden gathering. Even as the heat roasted them through and through the team didn't slow their celebration. Yosuke had come laden with supplies; drinks and snacks aplenty for all their celebratory needs.

  
"So, Yu, you finally got settled back into the big city life?" Yosuke asked, cracking the seal on his can.

"I think," Narukami said, "I never thought I'd miss having less stuff around me," In truth, the life of a city boy would always be a part of who he was. But now he held a special place in his heart for small town life; and the people it gave to him. The city was fun, there were more shops, restaurants, and people. Everything was densely populated and nothing was ever far from reach. Convenience wasn't enough to change his new perspective on life, there might not be as many luxuries in Inaba, but it was where his dearest friends lived. That was enough to convince him that the city wasn't all that great.

"What about ladies, eh?" Yosuke said, leaning forward with a grin, "See any hot babes?"

"Well she is sitting in direct sunlight," Narukami had idly been staring at Chie, and as a result misinterpreted the question completely. "If she sat with Yukiko on the sofa, it'd probably cool her off." When he looked back at Yosuke, he wasn't sure why he was being given such a confused look.

"Dude, were you even listening? I said have you seen any hot babes in the city!"

"Well it is summer, so everyone is hot, right?" 

Yosuke rubbed his temples, "No, no I mean.... Physically attractive ladies?"

Finally the connection was made, and Narukami nodded slowly, "Well of course, there are a lot of people in the city after all. I met this one girl, Miki. She's studying on the same course as me. Y'know just the other day she..."

The flow of conversation continued for hours, swapping stories back and forth about school, home life, and even the most mundane things possible. Not a single word was a wasted one to them; every second was precious. The Summer break would most likely be the longest period of time that they would get with Narukami that year, so they were going to make every single moment of it count.

 

\-------  
_**Present**   **Day**_

For Spring, it was strangely hot. The temperature was beginning to rise each day as Summer started to approach. For now, life was still in Springtime cheer. The sun was lazily hanging in the sky while birds flitted from to tree. Cars would occasionally trundle by with music drifting out from open windows while the drivers waved to anyone they knew that happened to be passing by. Inaba was alive, sleepy but alive. Narukami looked as his phone as he approached his new home, the door was unlocked and the last of the boxes were being moved inside under the supervision of Dojima. It was a lovely day for a life changing event. No stress, no worries, barely even a reason to care. It was why Narukami had come to love this town so much. A Spring day could actually feel like a Spring day when he was away from classes and the big city. 

Naoto and Kanji had split away from the group after a their short reunion at the station, they had had plans for the night and despite Narukami's arrival being important they weren't about to throw them away completely. So Chie and Yosuke had tagged along to see the new home, both were equally impressed by the general look of it. From the outside it was a pretty little place, painted white and fairly well renovated. Internally, it was as barren as to be expected. Barring the expected appliances, such as plumbing, it was completely empty. It was most likely one of the reasons it came cheaper than expected. He had received offers for temporary lodging from everyone, at least until they'd finished unpacking his basic things, but Narukami had refused. He wanted to spend his first night home truly at home. In the first place he could really call his.

"You don't even have an oven installed," Chie had protested, "You wont be able to eat properly for at least a week!"

"Dude, she's right you know. At least let us feed you until then, besides once that oven comes in you can put those magic cooking hands to work for us, eh?" Yosuke said, grinning ear to ear at the thought of future free dinners. Especially if he could secure said dinners through kindly deeds. 

"Its okay, really. I'll be able to make it a few days. Besides, I have plenty of money so if I really need to..." Narukami tried to explain.

"No buts, ifs, besides or howevers!" Chie cut in, "We're taking our friend out for a night on the town!" She bounced forward, linking arms with him and shaking him around a little, "Besides, its been too long since I've had a night off with you guys!" That settled it, the decree had been issued and the night was irreversibly planned. When Narukami tried to tell Dojima of his plans he was shooed away by his uncle.

"Let me handle the heavy lifting, go out and enjoy yourself," was his answer, and Narukami gladly accepted the chance to have a good night.

\------

It was eleven in the evening, and the trio showed no signs of slowing down. Bouncing from Aiya to Shiroku before finally winding up at the flood plain with a case of beer and some takeout. Their long night had given them plenty of time to catch up and share stories of their work. Chie had continued her progress in becoming an Inaba police officer, following in Dojima's steps and becoming a junior detective. The obvious Adachi jokes had already been made, and they had never failed to get some sort of laugh from the slightly tipsy group. She'd certainly made a name for herself as well, becoming a popular figure among the townsfolk for the time she'd spent patrolling the streets. Even the less desirable elements in town held her to a certain respect, she'd never caused trouble with them when there was no need to; in return they didn't cause trouble with her.

Chie, of course, had loved every second of this and loved to recount tales of times she had to chase suspects, or convince people to share what they knew. Somehow she even managed to make the boring side of the job sound somewhat exciting. Age was treating her well, her hair was longer than it had been in the past but was always pulled back into a tight bun whenever she was working. Figure wise, she had remained as fit as ever, but that was hardly a surprise. Her sense of fashion had also stayed rigid, and despite it being a night out she was still wearing running shoes as well as half a tracksuit; the light green vest completed the look. But if it wasn't sporty, it really wasn't Chie. Narukami had caught himself staring once or twice. He didn't know what would be worse, being caught staring, or having to explain that he was staring at her bracelet.

He liked the colour of the stone embedded in it.

Yosuke's life was less exciting, at least in direct comparison. It had taken some time for him to really come to terms with what he wanted to do, but after two years of wondering he finally managed to come to a conclusion. He decided to become a mechanic. For the first few weeks it had been hell. Despite his love of motorbikes, and to an extent vehicles in general, Yosuke hadn't been totally prepared for the amount of work that he would need to put in. But attitude prevailed, and once he was finished with his training he quickly fell into place nicely. There wasn't a huge demand for a full auto-shop in Inaba, so he moved a little closer to Okina City and took up a job there. But he still helped around town whenever possible, making a nice amount of cash from people who weren't able to haul their vehicles all the way to Okina. He'd even fixed up Dojima's car a few times, and always made sure to stress that it was free of charge; it was the least he could do.

Since then, Yosuke had collected himself a small amount of junked vehicles made up of two motorbikes and an old sports car. In his spare time he'd repaired them at home until one of the bikes was road legal, that was now his preferred method of travel. Now he was rarely seen without his leather riding jacket, bought only in part due to safety reasons, and his leather riding boots. While many would see him dressed as such and assume it was the mechanic being responsible, it was entirely because Yosuke wanted to look cool. One of the only constants in his dress style was a pair of headphones; every year he bought a new pair that looked identical to the last one. Aside from the changes the life of a mechanic had brought, namely clothes and the occasional smudge missed when he washed his face, Yosuke might as well have been frozen in time for eleven years. Whether it was luck or some secret beauty regime was unknown.

When they finally started to talk about Narukami's life, the general mood started to mellow out. They were down to their last three beers and it was getting late. Regardless, he told them all about his final days in the city before coming back to town, finding the job opening at Yasogami, and even how the original plan was never to move in proper for a while yet. 

"So I always wondered, why English?" Chie asked, using her now empty can like a ball, "Why not something fun... Like sports, or cooking?"

 **"Because knowing a second language without fault and being able to teach others about it feels like a worthwhile cause,"** Yu said in flawless English,  **"It also lets me screw with you guys, because I know neither of you were very good at it in high school." _  
_**

Yosuke's face dropped, "I got... I got high school out of that, how about you Chie?" 

"All I'm getting are flashbacks to finals weeks..." she whispered, dropping her focus on kicking the can to shudder slightly. Beyond the extended plan of being able to say things around nearly all of his friends and not have them understand a word, Narukami's primary drive to learn English came from a desire to learn even more. There was only so much he could understand. only being able to speak Japanese, and moving onto English was the first logical step to him. In time he planned to eventually learn either French or Spanish, but those could wait a year or two. For the time being he focused entirely on his now flourishing career; even if it had yet to officially begin.

The first steps had long since been taken, school had been a tough time for him, especially when he was separated from his friends again and again. But frequent visits to Inaba, as well as the wonders of social media and technology, allowed their bonds to remain strong. So as he had journeyed onward, they were never far behind. Now he was back, a fully qualified English teacher, and was ready to live a brand new life. Chie checked her phone, nearly leaping out of her skin when she saw the time.

"Oh crap, its nearly midnight!" she said, leaping over to Yosuke and pulling him to his feet, "Come on, we've gotta get home!"

"Chill out, Detective, we've got no rush to get back home yet, right Yu?" Yosuke started, before getting pulled to his feet.

"Yes we DO, blockhead, we've got work tomorrow!" Chie's argument was hard to go against, and a reluctant Yosuke started preparing to head home. Narukami stared out over the flood plain, watching the moonlight reflect off of the gently rippling waters. He wondered if there were any huge fish for him to catch again. With time ticking further and further towards midnight, the three of them started to say their goodbyes for the night. 

"Keep your weekends open, okay partner?" Yosuke said, "We're gonna get everyone together soon enough to really welcome you back to town."

"That sounds like a wonderful idea," Narukami replied, taking out his phone to see if it was too late to dial a cab. It was only then that something very important caught his eye. The date. "Hey guys," he began, "Do you remember when I first came to town?" They shook their heads, Chie and Yosuke didn't meet him on the very first day after all.  
  
Regardless, Narukami turned his phone around and showed them the date. It was April 11th. Exactly eleven years after he first set foot in Inaba.


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Oops I forgot to make an update in a timely fashion, my bad! Anyway, here's an update! Its probably okay!

Chapter 3: Mistakes by Moonlight

The three of them started making their way home. Yosuke was the first to split off, he was catching a cab the last leg of the way home; Chie offered to walk Yu home as it was on the way to her place. They'd only taken a slight detour to collect some more drinks, just for the hell of it. The two of them walked in silence for a little while, soaking in the world around them while drinking.  
"Y'know, its really pretty out tonight," she mused, staring at the sky while fighting with the tab on a new can of beer. "Sometimes I just like to stare up at the sky, y'know?"

"It is something to behold. City lights always kill the stars," Yu said while throwing a used can into a nearby bin. Direct hit. "Not to sound pretentious, but it is nice to get away from it... Then again, its only nice because I have people here, if I was moving here with no reason, i think I'd be bored to tears."

"Jeeeeeez, what is with you and doing that?"

"Doing what?"

"That thing where you get kinda weird all of a sudden!" Chie said, making odd hand movements to accompany her point, "I've mentioned it before! Its like that time we thought you were giving a big inspiring speech, but your were just talking about your dinner being too big! It can be cute but jeez, wouldn't hurt to reel it in sometimes." Yu gave her a blank look, and she only offered the shaking of her head in return.

"You think I'm cute?" he asked, getting himself a new can.

"Don't even start, its too late and I'm too drunk to be explaining who and what is cute in detail,"

"I'll be sure to ask you again in the morning," Yu said, smiling to himself. Something about being called cute put a small spring to his step. Not a large one, but a noticeable boost nonetheless. It didn't even matter who said it as the thought was enough; perhaps it was just the buzzing of the booze in his head that caused the more chipper mood. Nothing of note was spoken of beyond that, in fact the conversation barely moved on at all. The two of them were perfectly content to walk in silence, they'd known each other long enough that it was pleasant to just be quiet when together. When others might see it as an awkward silence, Yu always saw it as 'a moment to appreciate one another's continued presence'.

Their silence continued all the way to Yu's home. Chie waved goodbye and started on her way down the road, only turning back to throw Yu one last can of beer before he headed inside. His house was a total mess. Some sort of order had clearly been established by the most likely harsh directions of Dojima, but there was no getting around the reality of moving in. Boxes were stacked everywhere, and even if they had been opened it was simply so the contents could be half spilled onto some other surface a short distance away. Probably the worst part came when Yu investigated his bedroom; or what could vaguely be called a bedroom. Nothing had been unpacked, filed, sorted, or even mildly organised into something that could be considered a livable accommodation. If there was a bed lurking in the mess, it sure as hell wasn't ready to be slept on. Yu was fully prepared to drag out some bedding and sleep on the floor for a night; only he was interrupted by a girl that was supposed to have been walking home. Whatever her drunken motives were for returning, she didn't say. It was a miracle she'd managed to get inside making so little noise.

"THIS is what you call a room?" she asked, slurring her words just a little. "Nah nah nah, you are coming with me, and sleeping on a nice soft couch." Yu wanted to object, but when the scenarios ran through his head, the conclusion that simply giving in and letting Chie have her way was easily the better, and less painful, choice. It took more effort than Yu would like to admit just to fight her off long enough to stuff a spare change of clothes into a bag; locking his door was also something Chie was attempting to avoid in her sudden desire to get back home. Watching the plucky young detective stumble her way down the road started to give some insight into why her behaviour had suddenly become so confusing. Drinking had never been one of Che's strong suits; alcohol was her greatest foe in the culinary world. Yu had forgotten this crucial detail during their night of merriment and now Chie had drunk far more than she could handle. Damage control could be required.

Following the erratic movements that Chie was carving down the path kept Yu amused; it was the little things in life. Thankfully her behaviour didn't get louder so there were no concerned onlookers from nearby houses, only the occasional judgmental glare from some poor passerby that Chie would attempt to strike up a conversation with. When Chie did manage to corner a random pedestrian, Yu decided to step in and save everyone some time.

"Hey Chie," he said, distracting her long enough for the poor woman to scuttle away into the night, "I bet you can't win a race back to your place."

"Liiiiiiiiiiike hell I can't," she whispered, leaning a little close for comfort, "I'll race you into the ground, city-boy!"

"Prove it." That was all it took. Once the gauntlet was thrown Chie wouldn't divert her course for anything, not even a person giving their dog a late night walk. While the attempts at a foot-race were admirable, it was a lost cause. Chie's usual athleticism had been swallowed by drink and her usual flawless performance had become a bumbling mess. Random bursts of speed, coupled with long periods where she would just worm her way across every little inch of concrete she could manage. The journey should have taken roughly fifteen minutes, it took something closer to forty. Even so, Chie 'won' the race back to her home. It looked similar to Yu's in its design, however it was a two bedroom living space rather than a single.

"Okay okay okay... My roomie, you know her right?" Chie asked, struggling to get the key into the door, "She might be home... So just to go over the plan... We... Aren't screwing, okay?" Yu felt like that wasn't something that needed to be established. He had met Chie's roommate over two years ago. The odds of her thinking they were coming back for some sort of midnight fling were very low.

"I understa-"

"Because Yumi might think that we're screwing," Chie interrupted as she finally slotted the key into its hole, "So, you need to go get a pillow and blanket from the closet in my room, I'll get the couch nice an' cozy for you. That way... Yumi wont mistake you for some guy I'm screwing, okay?"

Nodding seemed like the easiest way out of this situation, and it was as Chie took the nod as a full agreement to what could barely be called a plan. Drunken stealth was apparently one of Chie's hidden talents because despite her near total lack of co-ordination she was somehow making even less noise than the relatively stable Yu. She made some unintelligible hand signal towards the hall, Yu took that as his cue to go and retrieve his sleeping supplies. It wasn't the first time he had done this, Chie had let him stay there one summer when the Dojima house had to be fumigated, plus he had crashed out on various surfaces in the house during parties or other lively social events. Down the hall, pass the room with a paintbrush sticker, then pass the toilet, finally at the end of the hall were two doors. The one to the left was the storage closet for cleaning supplies, the one to the right was Chie's bedroom. If the comically large cartoon dragon sticker on the door didn't give it away, the interior certainly would. 

Certain habits die hard, and Chie's love of kungfu movies was an eternal warrior in her heart. Posters that must be well over ten years old decorated the walls, homages to many great actors and movies of the genre. Standing proudly in the centre of the room was a punching bag that had seen far better days, weights and exercise equipment littered the floor. Finally came her bed, the less said about the overall neatness of that the better Yu would sleep at night. The last two remarkable things were her bookshelf, and her closet. The bookshelf was being used for everything except its explicitly named purpose. Everything from figurines to bowling balls were displayed on the various shelves, though nothing that could be described as a book was present. Yu thought he had spotted one, but it had turned out to be the manual to a lawnmower. He couldn't even begin to think why that was stuffed behind an alarm clock. Finally freeing himself from distraction, Yu opened her closet and found the spare pillow and blanket he was looking for. 

Quietly making his way back the living room, he discovered a problem. Chie had passed out on the couch. The fatigue of the day was finally setting in, and Yu decided that it was her problem that she'd passed out there. His last act of kindness for the night was to carefully drape the blanket over her and quickly make sure she wasn't sleeping in a position that might cause some damage to her neck. Once he was certain of this, Yu trudged back to Chie's room. A quick battle with her bed later, and he deemed it habitable by normal human beings. He had never in his entire life wondered what happened when you mixed a natural disaster with someone's sleeping space, and he hoped that he would never have to experience it again. Chie's bed was nothing fancy. Her sheets were thin, her pillow was slightly worn out, and the mattress was slightly too hard for Yu's liking. Plus she was a good few inches shorter than him, so his feet nearly hung off the end. But a bed was a bed, and despite the minor gripes he had with it Yu quickly found himself longing for sleep. Pulling off his shirt, Yu hated sleeping fully clothed, he nestled down and got comfortable. Within minutes he had fallen fast asleep.

\---

In recent years, Yu had developed into somewhat of a light sleeper. It usually didn't cause him any trouble, but sometimes movement in the room or the sound of pipes could wake him up. In this case, it was the former. He blearily looked towards the now open door, Chie stared back at him. She was still clearly a little drunk, and staggered her way over with a yawn. Yu managed to catch the time on Chie's alarm clock; 5:34 am.

"Heeey," she groaned, "I think... I think I took your spot... I don't blame you for coming here," her speech had recovered from the drinking, the rest of her faculties had yet to catch up. "But would you mind switching? I think I'm... Still a little drunk..." She wandered to the foot of the bed, giving Yu a blank stare.

Yu had severely underestimated the danger that Chie posed to him. Without warning, Chie blindly flopped onto her bed. That night had become an adventure of discovery. Now it was Yu's turn to discover exactly what it felt like to have one of his best friend's full body weight crash into his genitals. It wasn't totally Chie's fault, and in his still half-asleep state Yu wasn't fast enough to save himself. But the damage was done, delivered swiftly by Chie's right shoulder. Pain shot a brand new surge of energy through his body, and with only a strangled cry to give any indication of what had happened, Yu scrambled out of bed and made for the door. Once he was a few feet away his hand lowered down to cup and adjust his battered manhood, trying to somehow sooth the dull throbbing pain.

What happened next could only be described as cinematic in both its execution and improbability. At the opposite end of the hallway was Yumi, Chie's long-term roommate. She had woken up in the early hours of the morning after hearing what she had thought was a person breaking into the house. Before her at the other end of the hall was Yu Narukami, a very good friend of Chie's for many years, coming out of Chie's room shirtless while holding his balls. The two of them engaged in a stand off that neither of them could find a way to break. Yumi's eyes didn't know what to focus on, and her mind had too many questions to ask at once. Yu was simply incredibly confused and still in mild pain.

Eventually, Yu managed to break the silence with the only thing he could think to say at the time.

"We probably aren't screwing."


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WOW BOY ITS BEEN SOME TIME HUH? HI THERE ANYONE THAT READ IT BACK WHEN THIS CAME OUT I'M NOT DEAD!  
> With Persona 5 just around the corner for the west I really don't know how successful this will be any more; but I recently got into a better place in life and decided to try and finish what I started. I apologise for the incredibly late update, nearly 2 years is way too long to wait and I really can't say anything else except I'm sorry. But now I've been given a bit of a mood boost and I'm really hoping it will allow for me to just update this enough to reach a finishing point I can be happy with (fingers crossed) and that Persona 5 won't totally annihilate the chances of this being a thing. But hey, that's just being pessimistic.
> 
> Also I apologise for the dumb chapter name, but it was a joke I felt like I couldn't pass up. Up next we meet Yumi, hopefully you like her, and if you don't GOOD NEWS! She's a side-character. She won't appear as frequently as the main cast. Probably not anyway. I also extend another apology if there's any odd mistakes or inconsistencies in this chapter, I've had in in draft for a while and I'm almost certain I missed like five conflicting details in my re-read of it. 
> 
> I hope you enjoy this all too late update, or that it at least lets you have a reason to come back and yell at me for being slow! Enjoy!

Chapter 4: Yu-Mi, and The Morning After

Yumi Yoshida had been living with Chie for a little over two years, and had known her for three. They had met through work; Yumi was a local reporter and the two met during a slightly more high-profile case. Despite some clear differences in personality they quickly became the best of friends, going so far as to rent out a house together. Yumi was by no means a spectacular person, she got through school with average grades and went into further education to study journalism to eventually become a reporter. Nothing of note happened during that time. No relationships, no family troubles, nothing out of the ordinary whatsoever. Were it not for her insomnia, Yumi would probably be the most low-profile person to ever step within two feet of Chie. 

She was thirty years old, born September 9th, and standing at five feet and six inches when not slouching. Her hair was a nutty brown, as were her eyes, and her skin a shade darker from tanning. Since age eight she had worn glasses, thin rims with lenses to correct her long sighted eyes. During her spare time she was known to build models, read anything she could get her hands on, and occasionally played a really mean hand of poker. That was her primary outstanding attribute, the luck of the gods shone down on her, at least whenever it came to random chance. She could roll five six's in a row using five different dice but if that luck was ever applied anywhere except outside a fun game of chance? Nothing, not even a couple of yen won on the lottery.

Yumi Yoshida was a successful woman that carried herself with great confidence and pride. She never shouted, not even when shaking with rage. Gentle in both spirit and behaviour, some of the only times she could ever be considered 'mad' was when someone had disturbed her sleep. When Yu had met her, he thought she hated him. He later discovered that she has simply missed a few nights of sleep and was feeling very dizzy, resulting in a rushed greeting on her way to try resting. When not mildly addled by a sleepless night or two, the two Yu's got along very well. Some (Yosuke) even speculated that she was a long lost twin sister that the family had hidden away. Everyone else thought this idea was stupid; even Teddie had struggled to get on board with the concept. His logic was that her hair wasn't the same colour, therefore it was impossible for them to be related. 

Since then, Yumi had become a semi-regular guest at many of the gang's less private or personal events, but sometimes would opt out in favour of ensuring a good night of sleep before a day at work or just because she wanted to stay at home on her own. Knowing the Investigation Team had certainly brought something new into her life, and new pains were among them. However she had never expected to be offering coffee to one of them post blunt force trauma to the genitals.

"So she seriously thought that I'd think you're.... Screwing?" Yumi asked, handing Yu a mug of coffee before sitting on the couch beside him.

"The drunken mind of a Chie is far more unpredictable than even the wiliest of foes," Yu said, taking a gulp from the mug. Yumi raised an eyebrow as he proceeded to choke a little on the scalding hot liquid.

"I would ask any other person if they were still drunk after watching them immediately try to drink boiling liquid," she said. "But after that time you tried to eat an entire family sized sushi platter because Yosuke said 'Do it, Bro, it'll be hilarious' I hardly know what to expect when vaguely edible things get close to you."    
  
Yu paused for a moment, suddenly hit with a wave of odd nostalgia about all the bizarre things he'd eaten over the years. Some of them even he wasn't quit able to rationalize away; spoiled milk being quite high on that list.  
"I suppose I just can't resist an eating challenge, even if its dangerous. Food is the only opponent you can truly regulate."  
  
"I always wondered if you were just a weirdo, or some kind of comedian. Though weirdo becomes the obvious option every single day."

 

Conversation didn't really stray into any exciting territory from there instead becoming an hour long blur of general conversations about life, work, love, and even their favourite kind of ice cream at one moment. They talked and talked and talked long after the sun had risen and the birdsong of the early morning had faded into a scattering of tweets and chirrups made at random. It wasn't until the loud ringing of Chie's alarm traveled through the house (matched by a loud groaning) that Yu had realised the conversation had been flowing for well over an hour. It was also now he was slightly more painfully reminded of the effects of a hangover as the alarm ring was just loud enough to send a small bolt of pain through his temple. It would seem that even now the universe wanted to test him as much as possible.  
  
Yumi slowly began to make her way back to her room. "I'm going to try and lay down for a few hours, eggs and bacon are stocked up if you wanna make Chie happy. Cause after all." Yumi turned to face Yu as she walked past him, a look near totally devoid of humour on her face. "You guys totally aren't screwing."  
  
"Well.... We're not," Yu said, as Yumi shuffled her way back into her room and left Yu to deal with the potential ensuing chaos that his hungover friend was going to bring. Bacon and eggs didn't sound like such a bad idea for breakfast now that he thought about it.

 

\----

 

Chie had come and gone with somehow less grace than her drunken self the night before, crashing her way through the house as she tried to pull her work clothes together in time while also fulfilling as few hygiene steps as necessary before being deemed socially presentable outside of her home. Breakfast was laid out with perfect precision; matching the overall quality of the meal itself as once again Yu had put his culinary skills to the test to try and bring together a breakfast that would fulfill even the most titanic of hungers. It lasted about ten seconds under the ravenous onslaught of Chie. Yu watched on as he slowly ate his own breakfast while what had been prepared for his friend was attacked by her like she was a wild animal desperate to stave off starvation for just one day more. He interpreted that as it being a good meal. Once she was done inhaling that lovingly made breakfast, Chie bolted from the house with barely a word. Yu stared at the car keys sitting on the counter and counted down from ten.   
Nine.  
Eight.  
Seven.  
Six.  
Fi-  
  
The door was yanked open and a hand shot through. "NARUKAMI! KEYS!" Chie shouted, clearly bouncing in place judging by the motion of her hand. Yu slowly picked them up, carrying them over to her and gently placing them in her hand.  
"Have a good day at w- and you're gone," he said, watching her run from the house without closing a single door behind her. He could understand her rush; he needed to be at work soon too. But it was his first day, he knew the route there flawlessly, and it couldn't hurt to finish his breakfast in peace before then. That was before he remembered that he'd left all of the things needed to be presentable as a teacher at his house. Part of him hoped that none of his future students saw him throw himself onto the hood of a slowly accelerating car shouting about how he needed a ride home.  
  
But another part thought that if he'd seen his teachers do that, they would've been pretty cool in his books. 


End file.
